


MAJE

by DenvyrWriting9



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Major Original Character(s), Might be gay, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original faunus charater, POV Original Character, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 05:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26347921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DenvyrWriting9/pseuds/DenvyrWriting9
Summary: Bella doesn't hide who she is, but she doesn't broadcast it to people. All she cares about is righting the wrongs from her childhood.Archer wants to help people and hopes to become the hero he had always dreamed of being as a kid.Jason may not have a traditional semblance, but he has worked twice as hard as everyone else to get where he is.Diana doesn't care that people think she's a thief, she will become something other than what people think she will be.
Kudos: 1





	1. Beginnings

Bella felt uncomfortable in her jacket. Although it wasn't necessary as it wasn't actual armor. She reviewed what she was wearing, her black and yellow bomber jacket with her two swords on the back of it, her handgun and mags attached to her left thigh and hunting knife on her right. She thought it might have been a bit over kill, but then again, she would be facing monsters. Human and Grimm alike. She looked out the window of the transport, seeing the city of Vale in all its beauty. It reminded her of how she used to look out the window of her apartment in Atlas and see Mantle down below her. Vale was more beautiful than Mantle, probably because the people weren't being extorted by the people that literally reigned above them. 

_I hope no one gets motion sick on here,_ thought Bella as she looked around the transport. The weapons that the others were carrying were somewhat impressive, though a weird number of them just had large swords. She saw some weirdly shaped guns, must fold out into the real weapon. Less than a handful had any armor, which was strange seeing as almost all of them uses close combat weapons. The news was playing, something about the white fang “going rogue” or something. Bella was about to clock out and read a book, but then she heard something. 

"Hey, get off of me, asshole." 

"Oh, come on Diana, stop being like this, okay, can you just give me some." 

Bella walked over to the people that were yelling this. A girl dressed in a black blue skirt thing, with gray moon and star patterns on a small white jacket, and a boy holding her wrist asking her if he could have something. He had this open maroon coloured trench coat over a short sleeved black tee-shirt. and black cargo pants. The coat had lace designs of the sun made of a brilliant gold colour, he had a short staff attached to the back of it and had what looked like a bullet pouch on the left of his belt. 

"Hey, get off her, man," Bella stood behind the man, he was only an inch taller than her, but she didn't care. 

The man turned around and let go of the girl's wrist, he put one of his hands up and said, "Hey, it's not what you think, okay, I was just-" 

Bella activated her semblance. She grabbed his wrist and slammed it into the window a couple feet away from them, making sure that it hurt. 

"What the-" he tugged against her grip, even grabbing his arm and pulling, but she wouldn't budge, "Gods, you're hella strong. Is that your semblance or do you just bench press trucks in your free time?" 

Bella starred into his eyes. 

"Okay so will you let me go if I promise to stand on the other side of the transport and never go near you again... no? Please let me go." 

Bella let him go and he quickly shuffled off to some corner. She turned to the girl, who was staring at Bella with wide eyes. The girl giggled. 

"What?" Bella said to the girl. 

"It's just... he wasn't going to do anything to me, he's my brother, and he was just asking for some dust for his quarterstaff, but I told him that he should have packed some for himself." 

"Oh... I just sort of assumed that he was trying to... you know... stuff," Bella blushed a little in embarrassment. 

"But how did you do that, pin his wrist I mean. Was that your semblance or are you just naturally that strong," the girl tilted her head and looked at Bella's arms. 

Bella tugged at her sleeves, "My semblance is... complicated, but yes, that is how I pinned him." 

"Cool... maybe we can hang-" 

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!" They turned around, a hologram of what Bella assumed was a teacher appeared, "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." 

The transport stopped at the dock and all the new students walked out in front of the school. It was massive. The two circles of archways that surrounded the academy towering over the children. The girl walked off to check on her brother, leaving Bella alone on the path. She followed all the others into an auditorium. The woman from the hologram was standing behind a man. Professor Ozpin. 

"Ahem... You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and skills. And when you are done you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. 

But I look upon you and everything I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose and direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." 

Professor Ozpin walked off stage and the woman behind him walked up to the microphone, "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins." 

~~~ 

Bella started reading her book. She wasn't that much of a book nerd, but there wasn't much to do. She looked up from it, some kids were messing around, others were catching up with friends from the training academies. No one Bella knew was here. They were all probably going to Atlas academy, seeing as most of them were from Mantle. 

"Hey, I don't think I ever caught your name, yellow jacket." Bella looked at the person who was speaking. It was the girl from the airship, what was her name, Diana. 

"Bella, and your name is Diana, right," Bella stood up and stretched. 

“Yeah,” she looked over to her brother, who was trying to flirt with a couple of girls, “And that’s Aurum, he’s my twin brother, and an absolute pain in my side.” 

"I have a younger brother, so I know what it feels like." The two girls laughed.

"It is 11 o'clock at night, and some of us are trying to not to be the Apathy when we wake up, so please just go to sleep," a boy in the corner yelled at them. 

"Sorry!" 

They settled down, but Bella's couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep, not wanting to sleep on her back in fear of cramping in the morning. 


	2. Initiation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the part where I explain somethings about the story. Just as a reference point, this takes place 5 years before the first episode. The same time Winter joined Atlas. That might come up.

Jason walked around the lockers where everyone’s weapons were, pretending he was lost. He wasn’t, but it was nice to walk around and get a good impression of everyone. The one in the trench coat trying to flirt with everyone was charming, but kind of idiotic.

The hawk faunus could have done for him. Jason had accidentally bumped into her. She looked powerful and experienced, and at least she was guarantied not to be racist. No one else really stood out to him so he just got out his spear and armor from his locker and put it on.

Jason was pushed to the ground and had turned to see who shoved him. The guy was 6 and a half feet tall and burly, with a battle ax in his hand.

“Hey, what was that for!” Jason asked him as he got up and dusted himself off.

“Sorry, I guess I just _rammed_ into you.” The boy snickered, “Hey, Hunter. Why don’t we help lamb boy over here?”

Jason touched his ram horns, wishing that they were easy to hide, like cat ears or wings. The boy named Hunter walked over and looked at Jason.

“Look at him, man. He’s shaking already. Come on, lets shove a kid into one of these things!”

Jason looked down and wished he wasn’t a Faunus. Then he shook his head, if he wasn’t a Faunus, then he wouldn’t have grown up on Menagerie, maybe he wouldn’t even have wanted to become a huntsman.

Jason looked at his shoulder armor. The symbol of the white fang painted on. A reminder of simpler times. Jason took his spear and scratched it out. He was no longer part of that group of haters. 

~~~

Aurum grabbed Solar Fang, his weapon that he made at Signal. His baby might not have been as pristine as it was when he first got it, but that just proved that he worked hard with it. It was in staff form, but Aurum knew he would probably need a ranged weapon in the first part of initiation. He transformed it into a long bow, only five and a half feet long, as he didn’t want it to tower over him. He checked his ammo pouch, all 34 specially made arrows inside. Right then they were 2-inch containers with dust inside, the arrows were resistant to the blast of electricity or fire, and were able to go from full arrows, to 2’ bullet things.

“Would all first-year students please report to beacon cliff for initiation. I repeat, would all first-year students report to beacon cliff immediately.”

~~~

The wind whipped through Jason’s golden hair. He was a little concerned why they were standing on what looked like spring platforms, but he was sure the headmaster wouldn’t throw children off a cliff. The headmaster was standing in front of them, holding a coffee mug. Jason could tell that it was hot chocolate, though. It didn’t smell like coffee.

“For years you have trained to be warriors. And today, your abilities will be tested in the Emerald Forest.” Professor Ozpin sipped his hot chocolate.

“Now, I’m sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Allow us to end them. Each of you will be given a teammate... today,” Professor Goodwitch told them.

“These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.”

A boy in a red coat said, “That seems like being paired with someone we like will be almost impos-”

“Shut up, Aurum,” a girl with blue hair and a blue and silver dress told him.

“Yes... After you’ve been partnered up, make your way to the north end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way, do not be afraid to destroy everything in your path, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but your instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions? Good, now take your positions.”

People started being flung off the cliff. Jason knew they were spring platforms.

As the boy in the red coat was launched off, a girl in a yellow bomber jacket asked, “I do have one question, headmaster. Could you hold my jacket for me?”

~~~

Bella felt the wind in her face as she plummeted through the air. She had done this a hundred times. She tucked her arms to her sides, oriented herself downwards, and...

Bella stretched her hawk wings out. They might have been a bit small to actually fly, but they were perfect to glide down from high places. She folded them to gain speed and landed unsteadily on a branch of a tree. She half glided half jumped from branch to branch till she heard something.

A low growl came from behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay you may have questions about the characters. Bella Maze is a hawk faunas. Diana Eclipse and Archer Pollo are both humans and are twins, each one taking the last name of one of their parents. Jason Argo is a Ram faunas who lived his whole life on Menagerie. Just to clear things up a little.


	3. Initiation part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of the first part I guess

Aurum had a sudden moment of regret. He could have been nice at home in the sands of Vacuo. The heat pounding off his body as he walked through Coquina, maybe helping to take down a mole crab for dinner. But noooooooo. He had to go to Beacon Academy, and guess what, now he's plummeting off a cliff side. 

Aurum grabbed his bow and a gravity arrow. He pulled it as far back as he could. The tree line was fast approaching. 50 feet. 40 feet. 30 feet. 20. 10. Archer released his grip. The dust activated and slowed him down enough for him to grab a branch from a tree and swing down to the ground. Great. One problem down, probably seven more to go. 

_Keep it simple,_ he told himself, _find a partner_ _, grab a relic, and then get the hell back up to the cliff._

Aurum began to sprint towards what he assumed was the way to the forest temple, but he was running blind. Speaking of blind, Aurum pulled his sunglasses down over his face. It was time to kill some monsters. 

~ ~ ~ 

Diana morphed her bow into a sabre, using it to slide her way down a tree, but then she heard the unmistakable sound of a grimm. It was coming from in front of her. She made her way carefully to where the sound was coming from, but was cut off by the sound of gunfire. 

The girl with the yellow jacket, except she wasn’t wearing it now, revealing hawk wings, what was her name? Bella. She had a pistol in her hand and was shooting at an ursa. The beast swung at her, but she took out a sword and stabbed straight threw it. The ursa bellowed a hideous roar as it swiped again with a sword sticking out of his paw. The girl drew the other sword she had and slashed at its face. Diana drew her bow and loaded a fire arrow. 

“Watch out!” She yelled to Bella. The girl looked suprised for a second, but jumped back just as Diana fired the arrow and it detonated, killing the grimm. Bella walked over and collected her weapons. 

“I guess we’re partners now” Bella told Diana. 

“Yeah, guess we are. You didn’t mention you were a faunus.” 

“Is that going to be a problem?” Bella crossed her arms. 

“Oh no. I was just, I don’t know, surprised. I met you one day and the next you have wings sprouting out of your back.” 

Bella squinted her eyes. Diana hoped her idiot brother wasn’t dead yet. 

~ ~ ~ 

Jason had found someone battling a couple of beowolves. He seemed to be nice, if not a little annoying, but then he tried to blind him with some sort of ball of pure light. 

“Oh, my gods, dude I’m so sorry. I did not mean to do that, you scared me,” the boy in the red and gold trench coat told him. 

“It fine, it’s fine. I’ll just stand here till I stop seeing stars. My name is Jason Brass, by the way.” 

“Aurum Pollo, nice to meet you.” 

“You too,” Jason steadied himself by grabbing Aurum’s arm. They began to walk in the direction opposite the cliff. 

Jason’s vision came back just in time for another pack of beowolves to appear. Aurum fired off an ice arrow trapping two of the monsters, but there was still four left. Jason ran at the biggest one there and summoned a knife made of aura, then threw it at the creature, hitting it dead in the face, but it wouldn’t go down that easily. He drew his spear and slid under its paw as it tried to swat him away and plunged the weapon into its chest. 

Aurum was kicking at a beowolf that had pinned him down, only his quarter staff separating him from death. Jason tried to run over to him, but the other two beowolves jumped in his path. They pounced on Jason, but as they landed on him, he closed his eyes and focused his aura on expanding, causing a shield to form and encase his body. The grimm simply bounded off of it and became dust. 

Aurum finally had gotten the wolf off of him and had stabbed an arrow through its eye, killing it. He then began to pick up the arrows lying on the ground. 

“These are really hard to make, alright. Don’t judge me,” he said after he saw Jason’s confused face. They laughed. 

“We should get out of here before the ice melts and those beowolves get free.” 

Jason looked back to see the monsters beginning to break off prices of the ice, "Yeah… that’s a good idea.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi sorry for the weird scheduling, school hit me like a fucking bus. Anyway, I was wondering if you guys would want me to write a time loop fic. I had the idea that Jaune's semblance would be time loop, and at the fall of beacon he sees Pyrrha die and make one. The loop would restart every time beacon fell, until he and eventually the whole of team JNRP and RWBY stopped it. It would be a long one so I was just wondering. Sorry for rambling  
> Edit: I looked through the tags and this is already a thing, but it was porn with plot and so I will still write this, because it won't be smut because fuck writing smut, I'm an ace


	4. A Grimm Standing

Gray spun around as another boarbatusk charged him. He could take them, but he was getting more and more tired as more and more of them charged him. It was the twink’s fault. Gray was hoping to get Hunter, his friend from Signal, not this Mistal bitch. 

He swung his axe and sliced the head off of one of the grimm. He activated his semblance, making himself twice as big, to slam three of them into trees. 

The twink, Jack, slammed his hands on the ground, just as the last five boarbatusks ran towards him. The boy smiled. Five cylinders arose from the ground beneath the grimm, made of rock and dirt. They were tilted and shot the monsters towards Gray. Now it was Gray’s turn to smile. He hefted his battle axe and with one mighty swing, cut through all five of them.

Gray shrunk to normal size, or as normal as he could get when he was 6’6. Jack high fived Gray. Maybe this kid was more than he first seemed. He used axes as well, so how different could they be?

~~~ 

Hunter really like his new teammate. Zachery was cool and awesome and liked music almost as much as Hunter himself, not to mention that he was amazing in a fight and looked really ~~cute~~ cool while doing it. His weapons, gold-coloured bolas that could extend and be used as explosives, were even cooler than he was. Hunter really wanted to get with Gray, but hey, Zach was almost a step up from him. 

The only thing that made him less cool than Gray, was his feathered tail. Ole’ Mama Lyric told him not to be mean to people for the way they looked, but man, he was not expecting his new teammate to be a goose faunus.

“Hey, you don’t mind me being a faunus, right?” Zachery said.

“Oh no! I-I don’t mind dude, your- your cool in my hiz-ouze." Hunter pointed finger guns at him.

Zach laughed. 

Hunter smiled. He was going to like his new partner. 

~~~ 

Archer was hating his new partner. He kept telling him things about his life and home, and while Archer had nothing against the faunus homeland, but Jason was just dragging on and on. Archer tried to talk about Vacou and his sister and life, but Jason just went "cool" and continued to talk all the way to the clearing.

“Theres a ruined structure in the middle of the clearing, you think it’s the temple,” Archer told Jason as he was talking about how the white fang used to be amazing. Archer was just happy he shut up.

“Let's go and find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, but I am currently trying to get at least a C in all of my classes, and am failing horribly.


	5. A Grimm standing Part 2

Bella and Diana had made it to a clearing where a lone ruin stood. They walked up to it and found pedestals with what they assumed to be the relics on them. Some of them were gone, which meant they weren’t the first, but it was only a few, so at least they weren’t far behind. 

The relics, weren’t what Bella thought they would be. She had heard stories that people would find cards or chess pieces, not grimm figurines. There were two of each kind of grimm there. Two Nevermore, one looked as if it were flying in the air, the other diving down. A baorbatusk ready to charge and the other rearing up. A beowolf on all four, and one on only two. There was only one nuckelavee, it’s arms out stretched. 

Diana seemed to be grossed out by some of the other effigies. They seemed life like and disturbing to the eye. Bella didn’t mind, though, her dad taught grimmology at Atlas academy and would force her to go to many of his lectures. She was used to it by this point. 

“You wanna pick one?” Diana asked. 

Bella walked over to the nuckelavee statue. She always like that one. It was powerful and could take down whole villages if they weren’t careful. But not this nuckelavee. It had no scars from battle. No marks of honor to tell the humans around it that it was a threat. 

Bella turned to the Nevermore. She liked them too. They reminded her of herself. Probably because of the wings. She tossed up the statue and caught, flipping it in her hands. This was the right choice. 

Bella and Diana began to walk down the steps of the temple as a commotion in the trees happened. They reached for their weapons, expecting a grimm to fight. Instead, Aurum and the ram faunus who bumped into her in the locker room came barreling out of the forest, followed by a very tall guy and a twink, as well as a lanky guy with a guitar and a goose faunus with a bola. 

Diana looked at Bella confused until a giant made of rock and trees came out after them. It had a grimm face in the center of a giant rock in the center. 

_Oh great_ , Bella thought, _a Geist._

The boys sprinted as the grimm slowly walked toward the group. They made to the temple as the monster made it to the clearing. 

“Grab a relic and then let’s fucking bolt! Half go left; half go right!” the very tall man told them. He and the lanky one grabbed boarbatusk figures, while the ram faunus took the other Nevermore. 

The monster slammed its right arm between the group of teens. They split up. Aurum, the ram, Bella and Diana to the left of it. The others to the right. 

~~~ 

The thing went after the left side and slammed down another arm next to the group. Bella stopped and tried to run up the arm, but the thing shook it to knock her off as she was half up. She turned midair and glided to the ground as the attention shifted to the other group as they began firing at it. 

They played a game of back and forth with it as they approached the cliff. There was nowhere else to run in a few minutes. The groups merged together as they approached the edge of the forest. All that laid ahead was crumbling bridges. 

“People with good ranged weapons should stay back, while heavy hitters need to be up closed.” Bella yelled. 

“Fighting it would be time consuming and energy wasting. If we can get it close to the cliff then we can hit it all at once and push it off,” the tall boy yelled, “Jack, can you keep it unbalanced?” 

Jack saluted him and ran off behind the protective wall that was Aurum and Diana, who already had their long bows drawn. Jason ran off with them too, leaving Bella, Zach, Gray, and Hunter to get really close. 

Hunter grabbed his guitar and slid his fingers into the rings attached to the strings of his instrument. Pulling them out to use as four deadly whips. Gods, he loved Dead Harmony. He rapped them around the stone arm of the Geist and pulled himself and Bella into the air. Bella pulled out her swords and began to try and hash at the monster’s face and arms as Hunter did the same with his whips. 

Arrows flew passed them and detonated with fire and ice as the hit the creature’s torso, slowing it down. Jason was using his semblance to create a bow out of aura, although he wasn't very good at aiming. Jack had his hands on the ground waiting for the right moment to trip the Geist. 

Zach extended his bola and whipped it around, then he threw it at the Geist, twisting around the creature’s legs and unbalancing it as it headed the gorge. Jack placed a row of rock pillars in front of it. Hunter landed a hash blow, pushing it a little. Bella dove in with her swords and landed two large gashes. Gray used his semblance to make himself bigger as Jack launched him from the ground at the Geist. He brandished his great battle axe and yelled as he brought his axe down upon the creature of grimm. He slammed it as hard as he could on to it, that it caused a great split in the middle rock. 

The monster tumbled over the side and just as it was falling Zach’s bola zipped back to his gloved hand. 

“It’s magnetic controlled. You would not believe how many times I’ve had to go searching for it after I’ve thrown it, and this is way more convenient.” 

~~ 

“Gray Blunderbore, Hunter Lyric, Zachery Gold, and Jack Dandelion. You four picked the boarbatusk relics, and from this day forward, will be known as team BLZD (Blizzard)” Professor Ozpin said as they went up on the stage, “Lead by, Gray Blunderbore.” 

They left the stage, Hunter whispering something about how Gray was totally awesome sending that giant Geist over the cliff. 

Bella, Diana, Aurum, and Jason walked on stage as their names were called. 

“Diana Eclipse, Jason Brass, Bellaluna Maze, and Aurum Pollo. You four retriever the Nevermore figure. From this day forward, you will be known as team MAJE (Majesty) lead by, Bellaluna Maze.” 

The crowd clapped for their team. Her team. This was Bella’s new place. This was everything she had wanted since she was a kid. This is everything her father, and her father’s father, had stood for generations. She was a huntress in training. And she had done it away from Atlas. Her father may call that filth home, but Bella knew what it was. But she was away from it. That’s all that mattered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally part 1 and part 2 of this were meant to be one, but I felt I needed to get it out a little sooner, so I split it up.


	6. Proper chapter titles are for pussies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, soooooooo. I had to change the names a little bit to make it cannon compliant. So sorry if this is a bit confusing.

“So are we gonna decorate, or just leave all our shit on the floor for future us to deal with,” Bella asked as the team woke up in their new dorm. The group looked at each other. 

“Let's leave it,” They all said in unison. 

The group filed out of their room and into the hallway, where team BLZD was standing and... fighting? 

“I don't want to be on a team with a faunus!” Gray yelled. Hunter and Jack were standing between him and Zach. 

“And I don’t want to be on a team with a Racist!” Zach yelled back. 

“Come on, Gray! Just let it go!” Jack yelled. 

“Please guys, we’re supposed to be a team,” Hunter said. The others ignored him in favor of yelling at each other more. 

Bella rolled her eyes. “Gods, that dude is an insufferable little racist. I wish they would kick him out, but he’s ridiculously good at killing monsters.” 

“He’s just a general dick to everyone,” Aurum said. 

“Yep.” 

~~~ 

“The beowolf. A creature of grimm that is common wherever you go. They often travel in packs when attacking towns and villages,” Professor Port told the class of bored first years. 

“Oh my god, we already know this,” Bella whispered under her breathe. 

Port turned to Bella, “Well, Ms. Maze, please, I you know so much about the beowolves, why don’t you tell the class about them?” 

Bella rolled her eyes, “The beowolf, a grimm found in packs of 8-15 sometimes bigger when following an alpha or a smarter grimm of another species. Their average size is about as tall as an adult person and they attack using claws, teeth and they can be very agile, but they have no sense of self preservation, only gaining that after centuries of being alive. The alphas are slightly larger with more bone plates and spikes. They demonstrate no special abilities and someone who is still at a combat academy could take one down. Did I miss anything, professor Port?” 

Port cleared his throat, “No, no, very good Ms. Maze.” 

Bella turned to her team as Port continued with his lecture. 

“My dad is the grimmology teacher at Atlas academy, he would make me come to all his lectures. I thought it was boring at first and then he started talking about the really creepy ones,” Bella told her team. 

“Things are suddenly making sense about you,” Aurum told her. 

“Shut up.” 

“Now that you know what you need to about the base level grimm, let's see how you fare against one.” Port walked over to a shaking cage in the middle of the floor, “Since Ms. Maze seems to know a lot about the creatures, how would you mind showing the class how to defeat one?” 

Bella jumped down to the floor and pulled out her pistol, "I wouldn't mind at all, Professor.” 

He laughed and opened the cage and a charging boarbatusk sprang out and rolled out to her. Bella dodged its first attack and jumped to the side. She put her pistol away, it would be of no use against this grimm. The creature charged her again. She pulled out Winged and Hubris, her gladius swords and dodged again the rampant monster. Bella began to run at the desks where the students were eagerly watching, extending her wings. As she ran at the desks, the boarbatusk followed her. She pushed off with both feet against the desks when she made it to them and flew back towards the grimm, grabbing one of its tusks and pulling it onto its back. Bella twisted and landed, impaling the monster with both her swords. She breathed out as it began to disintegrate. 

“Well done Ms. Maze. Swift and easy, done like a true huntress. And with that demonstration, class dismissed!” Port yelled. 

The students filed out of the classroom. Aurum and Diana gave Bella a high five while Jason hung back to ask Port a few questions. 

“You know, if he had asked me, I could have taken that thing down in 3 seconds flat,” Aurum said. 

Diana rolled her eyes, “Aurum, where's your bow?” 

Aurum frantically looked around, “Oh shit, did I leave it in the room?” 

Aurum ran off towards the dorms as fast as he could, tripping over students along the way. Diana laughed as she pulled her hand out of her shadow, revealing Aurum’s bow. 

“Oh, my gods, my brother is so stupid,” Diana said as she tossed it to the floor, “He’ll find it eventually. Hopefully.” 

They walked to Professor Goodwitch’s class. Bella always liked it because it meant she got to hit things. Diana and Bella laughed and talked their way to class, getting to know each other better. 

“So where are you and Aurum from?” Bella asked as they were walking. 

“We’re from Vacuo. A settlement called Coquina. It’s the only settlement to have a court and jail. Our family has been there since the war. Our mom took care of us, and our dad worked as a mercenary. But that’s in the past. Where are you from, Bella? I heard you mention your dad was a teacher at Atlas?” 

“Oh, yeah. My mom and dad are from Atlas. They were both huntsmen on the same team. My mom gave birth to me while on a mission in Mistral. I lived there for three years before my mom got injured. They decided to come back to Atlas to raise me and my younger brother, Dove. My dad got a job at the academy, and my mom stayed at home to raise us. I went to the combat academy there but decided to come to beacon instead. I needed to get away from the literal capitol for faunus discrimination." 

“Fun. I came to Beacon because everyone at home thought I was gonna be a thief. Aurum came with me because he can’t exist if I'm not telling him not to do stupid shit.” 

The girls laughed as they approached the door to their next class. Aurum came crashing down the stairs with his weapon in hand. 

“Yo guys it was on the floor, but I got it just in time,” Aurum said as her crashed into another student. 

“Hey, watch it!” The other student yelled. 

“Sorry dude!” Aurum yelled back. 

Bella looked at her scroll, “The bell’s going to ring in like, 30 seconds. Does anyone know where Jason is?” 

The others shook their heads. _Damn it_ , Bella thought, _he’s gonna be late._

~~~ 

Jason didn’t understand how he got into this situation. He was only asking questions. Why did this stuff always have to happen to him? 


	7. The Giant and the Gallant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the hell does one redeem a racist?  
> Fuck if I know!

“Hey there, Lamb boy. You lost?” Gray asked Jason as Jason was walking out of Grimology class. 

“I’m really not in the mood, Gray, and I’m a ram, not a lamb, so shove off, before I ram a knife up your ass,” Jason told him. Gray’s smile fell from his face and he pulled out his axe. 

“Do you wanna fight, dude?” He asked. 

“Not particularly,” Jason tried to move past him, but Gray stopped him. Jason wasn’t in the mood to deal with a racist, so he summoned an aura construct, a small bead, and flicked it at Gray’s face. It landed square between his eyes. 

Gray stumbled back and Jason tried to walk away. He was probably going to be late to class at this rate. 

“You little shit. You get your ass back here!” Gray yelled. 

Jason quickened his pace to point where he was nearly running. The he heard Gray’s footsteps behind him. Jason began to run as fast as he could down the hall but made the mistake of looking behind him. Gray was also sprinting down the hall, slowly using his semblance to make his legs longer. 

_Fuuuuuuck_ , Jason thought as he barreled down the hallway to Sparring class. When Jason made it through the door, Gray was nearly on him. 

“Ah, Mr. Brass, Mr. Blunderbore, thank you for joining us. I was about to ask for volunteers for our first pairing, but now that you are here, why don’t you two go first,” the passive aggression in the professor’s tone was deafening. Goodwitch gestured to the sparring pit, and Jason was liking her less and less. 

The two boys made it down and Goodwitch counted them off. Gray’s first move was to make himself bigger, nearly 13 feet tall. Jason looked at the students. Hunter and Jack were watching eagerly, who they were hoping to win was up in the air. Diana and Aurum were cheering him on. Bella looked bored, and Zach looked like he wanted to fight Gray himself. 

Jason pulled his spear, Golden Voyage, and threw it at Gray, but the spear simply bounded off him. Gray pulled out his axe and swung at Jason, but he dodged out the way. Jason constructed another spear and threw it at Gray again. And again, it bounded off. 

_The protective force field around him is impressive, but it must take a lot of aura to be that big. All I have to do was wait it out until I notice the field weakening, then slam him with a lance or two. Gray seemed like the kind of person who would keep being this big, just so that he can look better. He probably assumed that he could take me down in a few moves, without depleting his aura too much. But I’m agile, and can dodge his clunky attacks with ease,_ Jason thought nearly all at once. 

__

He dodged another one of Gray’s attacks. Jason noticed that they were getting slower. Gray was getting tired. And then Jason saw it. A weakness. He waited for it to happen again and again. His armor of aura was faulty. It fluctuated every 12.3 seconds, leaving a small opening in the middle of his back. Jason counted and constructed another spear and threw it. It landed sqaure in his back and made it through his aura barrier. He collapsed on the floor, his aura having gone into the red. 

__

“And that’s the match,” Professor Goodwitch said, “Can anyone tell me why Mr. Blunderbore lost so easily?” 

__

Bella raised her hand, “He didn’t understand that Jason is very agile, and in Gray’s larger state, he would be nearly impossible to hit.” 

__

“Very good Ms. Maze, who would like to be our next pairing?” 

__

~~~ 

__

“Class dismissed!” Glynda yelled to the group of first years. Bella picked up her stuff and walked to the door. She of course noticed Gray approaching her and her mood was getting worse and worse. 

__

“Hey there, birdie. What you are doing tonight?” he asked her, trying to be suave or something. 

__

“First off, I’m not in the mood, second off, you’re not my type, and third off, if you ever try to hold up one of my friends again, I’ll break your arms,” Bella tried to sound as cold as she could, which was very cold, she had lots of time to practice shutting up racists. 

__

He grumbled but didn’t do anymore. Bella guessed that one embarrassing beat down was enough for one day. She caught up with the rest of team MAJE and they headed off to lunch. 

__

~~~ 

__

Lunch wasn’t much better. She sat with Aurum across from her, Jason to her left, and Diana to her right. Zach and Hunter sat next to each other on the right of Aurum, while Jack more sat on the table than at the table. Everything was going fine until Gray tried to sit by them. 

__

“Hell no, Gray. Sit your ass down somewhere else,” Zach got up and faced Gray, who was 6 inches taller than him, so it wasn’t too intimidating. 

__

“I thought we were supposed to stay with our teams, Bird boy,” Gray cracked his knuckles. 

__

The tension at the table was almost suffocating. Bella and Zach had a hand ready to reach for a weapon, Jason had constructed a knife, Hunter and Jack gave each other worried looks, as Aurum and Diana were already standing up, ready for a fight. 

__

Gray sensed he was outnumbered. He was big but he wasn’t that scary or strong really. So, he thought, something people thought he was incapable of because of his size. 

__

“Whatever,” He said after a few seconds of intense tension. He looked at Hunter, “We used to be friends.” 

__

“I don’t want to associate myself with someone who hates people for what they look like, anymore,” he said back. Gray and Bella both noticed that his pinky finger curled around Zach’s. 

__

Gray left and ate on the roof. He heard the roof door open and assumed it was Hunter or Jack or someone. He turned to say something about how he was okay leaving them alone, but when he turned, it was an upper classman that was there. 

__

He was wearing a leather jacket with a slingshot at his side. He also had a cigarette in his hand and was looking at Gray. 

__

“Aw shit, you're not going to turn me in, right? I wear I’m not the only one who smokes here,” he said, raising his hands. 

__

“What? Oh, no, I was just, you know...” Gray gestured all around, not entirely sure what he was trying to convey. 

__

“Oh, man, I feel you. My name’s David,” He said as he sat with his legs dangling off the roof and motioned for Gray to join him. 

__

Gray scooted over and looked down at the people below them. David offered his cigarette to Gray, but he waved it away. 

__

“I go up here to smoke weed, so why are you up here?” David asked taking another puff. 

__

“I said somethings and did somethings that I am now regretting.” 

__

“Ooh, been there, buddy.” 

__

“I was... _mean_... to some faunus, but now I am realizing that I was being a... a bad person,” Gray put delicate emphasis on some of his words. 

__

“Do you believe what you were saying?” 

__

“What?” 

__

David put out his cigarette and sighed, looking Gray directly in the eye, “You are telling me that you did and said somethings you shouldn't have. Did you believe the things you were saying?” 

__

Gray thought. He tried to have a faunus friend when he was very little, but his dad nearly killed the kid when he found out. His dad did a lot of things to his sister when she tried to run away to be in love with one. _Did_ he believe what he was saying? Or was it all just him regurgitating what his dad had told him. His dad wasn’t the best person. He was a drunk and an abuser. It was the reason Gray wanted to be a huntsman. He wanted to stop people like his dad. Gray was saying all these things his dad would say. And maybe repeating the words of a sinner is a sin in and of itself. 

__

Gray set his jaw, “I don’t know anymore. I thought I knew, but... maybe I was wrong.” 

__

David nodded his head a little and swung his legs, looking out onto the broader campus, “Sometimes people never truly know anything, and sometimes people already know the thing they want to know about without realizing it.” 

__

Gray squinted his eyes and chuckled, “I think you’ve had one to many puffs of that.” 

__

"Probably."

__


End file.
